


(ain't my fault that i'm out here) making news

by wolfsupremacist



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Crack Treated Seriously, Enemies to Lovers, Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Kiss, Frottage, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2020-01-01 09:05:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18332933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfsupremacist/pseuds/wolfsupremacist
Summary: “The recent and frankly meteoric rise of—,” and the man clears his throat, “LGBT idols has interested us. Their songs are charting higher, their albums are selling more, and more fans are going to their concerts. If we could corner this untapped market, we think it would do a lot for the NCT brand in these demographics.”“Probably, but...” Ten says before gesturing to himself. “I’m already a gay icon.”





	(ain't my fault that i'm out here) making news

**Author's Note:**

> to the light of my life

He feels like he’s in an alternate universe. 

They’re on the couch, about a meter between them. Taeil hugs the right arm of the couch, Ten hugs the left. 

“You can get comfortable,” Yoojin says. “You don’t have to sit so far apart.” 

“I’m good here,” Ten says. 

Taeil doesn’t say anything, all that he knows is that they’re going to get into trouble. He doesn’t like getting in trouble, obviously, but Ten’s involved, and it’s—what exactly is he supposed to do? They’ve never gotten along, they never will. And it’s not like that was a secret either: everyone knew. Management knew, members knew. Hell, even some _fans_ suspected. He’s even seen some of the conspiracy theory videos. Not really much of a conspiracy. 

He’s not exactly looking forward to a meeting with a higher-up just because they don’t like each other. But, as it turns out, that’s the least of his worries. 

“Relax,” the man says. And Taeil’s never seen him before, his cheery, vaguely sinister smile. “Let’s talk informally. Let’s loosen up a bit.” 

He makes a show of shrugging his shoulders strangely, and Taeil looks over at Ten who just sinks back into the couch. Taeil tries to mirror the executive, rolling his shoulders back. 

“So, I bet you’re wondering the reason we’ve brought you here today,” the man says, gesturing to Yoojin, as if he played a part other than carting them around. “We’ve been doing a lot of research into demographics.” 

He stares at them like he expects them to say something, so Taeil looks at Ten, who boredly stares at his fingernails. “Okay,” Taeil says, trying to be pragmatic about it. The quicker they get through this, the quicker he can go back to the dorms. 

“The recent and frankly _meteoric_ rise of—,” and the man clears his throat, “LGBT idols has interested us. Their songs are charting higher, their albums are selling more, and more fans are going to their concerts. If we could corner this untapped market, we think it would do a lot for the NCT brand in these demographics.” 

“Probably, but...” Ten says before gesturing to himself. “I’m already a gay icon.” 

Taeil rolls his eyes. 

“We’ve done a lot of research,” the man says. “And we’d like to organize a strategic leak of rumors.” 

Ten swallows over a laugh, obviously an attempt to be more polite than usual. 

“What rumors?” he asks. “Everyone already thinks I’m gay. I doubt that will do much to boost record sales.” 

“It’s not so much an _individual_ rumor,” the man says delicately, playing with the end of his tie. 

_Oh no_ , Taeil thinks. _Oh no, no, no._

“No,” he says aloud. “It’s a bad idea.” 

“It’s a story,” the man says, throwing his hands in front of him in a rainbow. “Enemies to lovers. Who could resist that?” 

Ten rockets forward. “Wait, _us_?” he exclaims before pointing to Taeil. “Me and _him_?” 

“Ideally,” the man says cheerfully, like they’re discussing the upcoming weekend weather: sunny with a chance of media play. 

“This is ridiculous,” Ten says. “If you want us to gain fans, at least set me up with a _popular_ member.” 

“Hey,” Taeil says, affronted. 

“Actually,” the man says, excited, “we’ve cross-referenced everything there is to be studied about this, and by design, this is the pairing that will theoretically yield most fans. Taeil is a main vocalist, he’s been rapidly growing in popularity thanks to his stations, and his subset of lesbian fans is no mistake. I think there’s something to be said for narrative, don’t you? Two members, widely thought to hate each other, and suddenly there’s rumor of them _dating_? Have they been hiding it all along?” 

“Lesbian fans?” Taeil asks with a little smile. “That’s nice.” 

“Oh my _God_ , we’re like, two years apart, but he talks like he’s a centenarian,” Ten says before turning sharply to Taeil. “Learn about Twitter!” 

“I know about Twitter,” Taeil frowns. “Stop being mean to me.” 

“Stop being _stupid_.” 

“I’m not stupid, _you’re_ stupid.” 

“You’re both stupid,” Yoojin sighs, head in his hand. 

The man clears his voice sharply, and it cuts through everything else, shocking Ten and Taeil straight in their seats.

“This is a mandate,” the man says. “And we’d like your utmost cooperation in this matter.” 

“So we have no say in it,” Ten argues. “We’re just supposed to let you tarnish our character because it’ll sell a few more records, and when we’re done, we’re treated like garbage.” 

The man sighs. God, Taeil doesn’t want trouble. And more than anything, he just doesn’t want to be lumped in with Ten, with his sass and his impoliteness and his stubbornness. 

“I’ll do it,” Taeil says. 

Eyes go wide, and the three of them nearly shout in unison. “What?” 

“I’ll do it,” Taeil says. “If it’s for the good of the group, then I’ll do it.” 

“Oh, of course,” Ten says. “Mr. Goody Two Shoes Moon Taeil.” 

“Just because I want to do what’s best for the group, I’m a suck-up?” Taeil asks. 

“How is this _what’s best for the group_?” Ten asks hysterically, leaning forward to jab Taeil sharply in the chest. “We _hate_ each other. How’s this gonna fucking work?” 

Taeil reels back, almost as if he’s been shoved. He knew they didn’t like each other, didn’t work well together. But he didn’t know Ten _hated_ him. Hate seems too strong, too—too much. Does Ten really feel that way, or is this just another one of his many hyperboles? 

It doesn’t matter, Taeil decides. Ten can do whatever he wants. He can hate Taeil all he wants. Taeil’s always going to put NCT first. He’s always going to do his best. 

He turns back to Yoojin, to the executive. “I’ll do it,” he repeats. “If Ten doesn’t want to, that’s on him.” 

Ten makes a noise of discontent, and the manager and the man’s eyes go to him. 

“Well, what am I supposed to say?” he says, throwing his hands up in the air. “I guess we’ll do it.” 

The man slaps his hands on his knees, giddy. 

“You have no idea how excited President will be,” he says, clapping his hands together. “We’re going to go ahead with our planned leak, and after initial reactions, we’ll reconvene to discuss how much further this will go. How does that sound?” 

“Great,” Taeil tries, forcing himself to smile. 

“Give me a break,” Ten says under his breath.  
  


☾ V ☽

  
  
They’re hanging in the living room when it breaks.

“Whoa,” Mark says, shoving his phone into Taeil’s face. “You’re dating Ten?” 

A huge Naver headline stares back at him: **TEN ♥ TAEIL, NCT’s Romeo and Juliet story**. It’s coupled with photos from Dispatch. There are blown up images of from when they were rookies, before things got so bad. Arms around each other, smiling, laughing. And then, more recently, there are pictures of them glaring at each other, keeping their distance. 

He scrolls down to the top of the article, reads just a hint: 

_Rumors are circulating that NCT 127’s TAEIL and WayV’s TEN have been dating since late 2016, roughly five years time. This news comes amidst a surging wave of LGBT acceptance and successes in the industry. Reports suggest—_

He stops himself. He doesn’t need to know any more. 

“Oh,” Taeil says. “Yeah, uh...yeah, I guess we are.” 

“Hey,” Mark says, “congrats, hyung. Finally getting a piece.” Thankfully, Johnny smacks him, making Mark screech. “What the heck! Stop! I’m trying to be nice.” 

Johnny turns to him, eyes critical. “Are you sure they’re not forcing you to do this?” He pushes Taeil’s hair up, puts the back of his hand against his forehead. “You don’t feel hot. Are you sick?” 

“I’m not sick,” Taeil smiles. “Sorry.” 

“You and Ten?” Johnny says, disbelieving with a cluck of his tongue. “I dunno. Doesn’t seem realistic.” 

Taeil looks anywhere other than Johnny’s eyes, not wanting to give the charade away. If he were, he doesn’t think he’d be able to do it at all. 

“Let young love blossom,” Taeyong says happily. 

“Young?” Hyuck says. “ _Young_?”

“Shut up, you little—,” Taeil says, gathering Hyuck into a tight hug, almost squeezing the life out of him, delighted by Hyuck’s giggles. 

They don’t really talk about it other than that, letting the rumor fall by the wayside, and for the moment, that’s all it is: a rumor.  
  


☾ V ☽

  
  
Their second meeting happens the following day, and Taeil pulls a mask up over his nose and mouth, a bucket hat low to shield as much of his face as he can. There’s distinctly more people following them which is to be expected, he supposes. He gets jostled a bit more than usual, and it’s a struggle to even get into the building.

Taeil tries his best not to let it shake him up, but he’s breathing heavily by the time he’s inside. He sucks in deeply once and holds it for a few seconds before letting it go and repeating. He doesn’t need an anxiety attack on top of everything else. 

Ten is sitting on the couch when he enters the room, and Taeil takes his rightful place on the opposite side of that couch, waiting for the executive to walk in. 

“Good morning,” the executive, Mr. Kim says. “I’m sure you’ve heard the excellent news.” Taeil looks at him expectantly. “Fans are _delighted_ by the dating rumors,” he says. 

“Oh no,” Ten says. 

“Sales for _Intervention_ have tripled,” he says. “Overnight.” 

“Oh no,” Ten repeats. 

“Management would like to move forward,” he says. “And we’d like to confirm the rumors.” 

“Oh my god,” Ten says, burying his head in his hands momentarily before looking up, exasperated. “And what exactly would that entail?” 

“Oh, you know,” he says with a wave of the hand. “Just the normal things people expect from couples these days: being cute in public—”

“Pass,” Ten says. 

“More skinship than usual,” he continues. 

“ _Pass_ ,” Ten says, more incensed as the items go on, which makes Taeil all the more willing to accept the horrible conditions. 

“Couple VLives,” Mr. Kim says excitedly. 

“Oh, I’m gonna throw up in my mouth,” Ten says, and then he goes on to make exaggerated vomit noises. 

“Are we gonna have to...are we gonna have to kiss?” Taeil asks. 

“I’d rather _die_ ,” Ten says. 

“Let’s table that discussion, shall we?” Mr. Kim says, slimy. Taeil’s stomach keeps finding new depths to sink to. “For now, let’s focus on getting a bit more comfortable with each other.” 

He stares at them, blinking, and Taeil looks at Ten who does not return the look. Ten looks forward again, folding his arms across his chest. 

“Why don’t you get a little closer?” he suggests. 

“Oh, super pass,” Ten says with a glittering smile. 

“If we’re going to confirm the rumors, then it’s a necessity,” he says. “Go ahead, why don’t you just—act for a moment?” 

“I’d rather die!” Ten repeats. 

“The lady doth protest too much,” Yoojin says. 

“Hey!” Ten says. “Methinks _this_ lady doth protest exactly as much as she should be protesting. In fact, _me_ thinks the lady could be protesting outside with a picket sign.” 

“If you want to deny the statement, we’re prepared to do so,” the executive says. “But management wants to proceed.” 

Taeil looks between Ten and Mr. Kim. It isn’t gonna be him backing out early. If Ten wants to let his side of the deal down, then so be it. 

“I’ll proceed,” Taeil says, and he moves first, scoots over to the other side of the couch. 

“Oh, excellent, Taeil,” Mr. Kim says, and weirdly, the praise makes him sit up a little bit straighter, ready to perform. “Could you put your arm around him?” 

Taeil moves again, puts his arm around Ten’s neck. It’s not like it’s _new_ territory for them by any stretch of the imagination, so it feels...comfortable. Familiar. 

“Perfect,” he encourages. “Ten, if you could—” 

Ten locks eyes with Taeil, and his glare is withering, but he works an arm around Taeil’s waist all the same, and suddenly, they are closer than they have been in years. 

“Oh,” Mr. Kim says, sitting back in his chair. “This is going to work. This is going to _work_.” 

Taeil’s glad Mr. Kim sounded so positive, because he isn’t so sure.  
  


☾ V ☽

  
  
He heads back to the dorms, and by the time he’s gotten in the door, Mark is in his face.

“I thought you were kidding, hyung!” Mark says, wrapping Taeil in a hug. “You actually are dating!” 

“Oh,” Taeil says, “yeah.” 

“Woo!” Mark shouts. “This is cause for celebration! True love always wins! I knew you guys were only beefing as a joke!” 

Taeil loves Mark a lot, loves his innocence and gullibility. 

“Yeah,” Taeil says, patting Mark on the back before giving one hundred percent to the hug like it deserves. “Yeah, I guess so.”  
  


☾ V ☽

  
  
They decide to do a group dinner, the whole ugly mess of them. And Taeil forces himself to corner Ten.

“Uh, have you ever heard of personal space?” Ten asks. 

“He hasn’t,” Sicheng says. 

“Stop,” Taeil says. “We need to talk.” 

“Talk,” Ten says. 

Taeil looks around. He’s on WayV’s turf, Sicheng and Yangyang and Yukhei standing around, and therefore, he feels incredibly uncomfortable. The dorms are too big. He needs neutral grounds. 

“Johnny’s got a new camera,” Taeil says. “He wants to show it to you.” 

Ten narrows his eyes, but cautiously, he follows Taeil back to the 127 section before leading Ten back to his room. Ten sits on his bed, looking totally unamused. 

“This isn’t Johnny’s room,” Ten says, face stoic. 

“No,” Taeil says. “It’s my room.”

“I can see that,” Ten says, leaning back onto Taeil’s bed with his hands back behind him. “Well, you wanted to talk. So talk.” 

“I just wanted to talk about our game plan,” Taeil says. “For tonight.” 

“Why do we need a game plan?” Ten asks.

“Because we’re dating?” Taeil says. 

“ _Fake_ dating,” Ten corrects. 

“Well, yeah,” Taeil says. “But shouldn’t we, like, I dunno. Practice?” 

“Are we telling the members we’re dating?” 

“Oh,” Taeil says. “I already sort of...said we were.” 

Ten rolls his eyes, but he surges to his feet. He takes Taeil’s face in his hands, and Taeil’s eyes go wide just as Ten kisses him squarely on the lips. Taeil doesn’t have time to react, doesn’t have the time to do _anything_ before Ten stands back, satisfied. 

“There,” he says. “Happy? We’ll make it really cute. Relax.”

Ten walks from the room, but relaxation is the last thing on Taeil’s mind.  
  


☾ V ☽

  
  
Of course they’re seated next to each other during dinner. Ten smiles, laughs, jokes. He’s honestly a really good actor, and he even puts his hand up on the table top, palm open. Taeil doesn’t get it at first, but when Ten nudges him with his shoulder, Taeil puts his hand in Ten’s. He didn’t think _he’d_ be the one fucking it up. He never assumed Ten would be the one putting in the most work. After all, it’s Ten who has the bigger grudge.

“Oh my god,” Jungwoo coos. “That’s so sweet. Look at you two.” 

“Yeah, aren’t we precious?” Ten says. 

“The most precious,” Jungwoo agrees. “Can I hold hands too?” 

Ten sticks out his other hand, and Jungwoo takes it. 

“Have you guys really been dating for that long?” Taeyong asks, and he narrows his eyes the way Johnny did. 

“Yeah,” Taeil says. “Pretty much.” 

“You guys always seemed like you hated each other,” Johnny says. “Like, in a real way, though. Not like Mark and Hyuck.” 

“I do hate Hyuck,” Mark says. 

“No, you don’t, coward!” 

Hyuck hurls a napkin at Mark’s head, and that’s good, Taeil thinks. _Distract them._

But he should know better. Johnny and Taeyong are laser-focused on shit like this, so they both turn back, studying Ten’s hand in his. 

“No,” Taeil says, “we, uh. We love each other.” 

“Very convincing,” Johnny snorts. 

“Shut up,” Ten says. “We’re very secretive.” 

“You would tweet every time you took a shit if Yoojin would let you,” Taeyong says. 

“It would be good content!” 

Taeil feels a tap at his shoulder, and it’s Sicheng. 

“You’re really together?” he asks. 

“Yes,” Taeil says. 

“Good, then,” Sicheng says with a smile. “Ten’s so lonely sometimes.” 

Ten throws his head back and laughs it off, but Taeil does watch him for the rest of the night, hand sweating in Ten’s.  
  


☾ V ☽

  
  
“Okay,” Mr. Kim says over the phone. “Big day. First outing.”

“Outing,” Taeil laughs. “Get it. Outing?” 

Ten rolls his eyes. “Let’s get it over with, okay?” 

They haven’t been seen together since the confirmation, rocketing from schedule to schedule. They’re in different units, they have different lives. But today— 

“Really casual,” Mr. Kim coaches. “Nothing phenomenal. Just holding hands through the city.” 

“This is so embarrassing,” Ten groans. 

“It’ll be really good press,” Mr. Kim encourages. “We have people scraping netizen reactions hourly, and they’re all so positive. Naver, Weibo, Twitter. God, _Twitter_. You’ve been trending for days.” 

“Wait, days?” Ten asks. 

“Days,” Mr. Kim says. “Hashtag new TaeTen. Hashtag TaeTen love is real. Hashtag TaeTen gay legends. Every day is a new phrase. It’s—” 

“It’s stupid,” Ten says. “Okay, whatever. Let’s hold hands.” 

Realistically, it’s not much time at all that they’re out. They’ll be dropped off, they’ll walk a couple blocks until they meet up with Johnny and Taeyong before they go to get smoothies together. It’s so low-stress that it’s comical when they get out of the car, and Taeil feels like turning around. 

The car leaves, and they’re stuck there, out in the middle of all those people. 

“What are you doing?” Ten says. “Grab my hand, idiot.” 

“D-Don’t yell at me,” Taeil says, and he quickly reaches out to take Ten’s hand in his. “And I’m not an idiot.” 

Soon, they’re swallowed up by the swarm of people trying to get from one place to the other, so there’s no time for arguing. _That_ wouldn’t look good. 

They start to walk, and Taeil tries to keep the nervous look from off his face. Ten’s hand is warm in his, and they keep quiet, the most silent walk he’s ever been on. It’s ridiculously uncomfortable, and when they finally spot Taeyong and Johnny, waving like fools at the end of the block, Taeil feels like he’s run a fucking marathon. 

“Thank God,” Ten says, and he yanks his hand out of Taeil’s as he runs to scoop Taeyong up in a hug.  
  


☾ V ☽

  
  
Their first VLive is scheduled for one of their free days, and Taeil is in the middle of struggling to decide what to wear when a knock on his bedroom door interrupts him.

“Come in,” he calls, and the door swings open to reveal Ten’s face. 

He looks extra beautiful, eyes lined and lips red, face dewy like he sprayed himself with setting spray or something. He’s got a bag in his hand, and he’s playing on his phone. 

“What are you doing?” he asks, still staring at his phone screen, not even pausing to look up. “We’ve gotta go soon.” 

“I was trying to figure out what to wear,” Taeil says. 

“Oh my god,” Ten says, rolling his eyes. “Come on. Just wear what you’re wearing.” 

Taeil looks down at himself, the basic-ass t-shirt and jeans. He doesn’t look like a boyfriend. He mostly just looks like a scrub. He ignores Ten, turns back to his wardrobe and starts sifting through options again. 

“I literally just said let’s go,” Ten says boredly. “So let’s go.” 

“I gotta find something,” Taeil says. “Not everyone can walk up wearing sweats and a tank top and still look perfect.” 

Ten goes over to him, reaches into his bag, shoves a shirt into his arms. “Here,” he says. “Put it on.” 

Taeil holds the shirt out. It’s some kind of street wear, an ultra-basic black and white striped shirt, the only element of interest being an embroidered rose above the heart. 

“What is this?” 

“Our _couple tees_ ,” Ten sneers. “Now, put it on and stop bitching.” 

Taeil smiles, stripping out of his shirt and throwing his couple shirt over his head. “Where’s yours?” Taeil asks once he pops his head through. 

Ten is looking towards the door, arms folded across his chest. 

“In my bag,” Ten says. “I’ll put it on once we get there.” 

The ride is quiet, the way they always are when it’s just Taeil and Ten. And Taeil wants to ask so many questions. _Why do you hate me so much? What did I do to you? It wasn’t always like this, so what the fuck changed?_

But something in Taeil stops him, some infectious stubbornness or maybe fear, or maybe something else. It always stops him. Always. 

When they get out of the car, the fans swarm the way they always do now, and Taeil grabs Ten’s hand in his as they walk to the building, smiling through his mask and waving as they go in. 

They hold hands all through the building, just in case someone’s watching, and they sit down in the room with Yoojin, setting everything up. 

“Are you guys okay with this?” he asks. “With everything that’s been going on? I know it’s been a whirlwind.” 

“We’re fine,” Ten says. “Just put it on.” 

“Alright,” he shrugs, and he sets up the phone. Goes live. 

Taeil never feels totally like himself in front of the camera, like he’s only being some version of himself that he’s _pretending_ to be, so in a way, he’s more comfortable than ever. At least now, he _knows_ he’s pretending. 

Ten is always charming beyond belief, impossible to hate, and as Taeil watches him talk to the fans about his favorite part of Taeil (“he’s such a good singer, he’s so good, it’s crazy, isn’t it? Is that allowed?), about Taeil’s favorite food (“he’s not picky, definitely not. But we both like ice cream. Would you guys like to watch us eat ice cream?), about the conspiracy theory videos (“did we fool you? We did a good job, didn’t we?”), he feels the ice chip away. He doesn’t hate Ten. Not even close. 

“Aw,” Ten says, reading the comments. “They say you look like you’re in _love_.” 

Taeil clears his throat, looking down sheepishly at the table, feeling caught, and then suddenly, Ten surges forward to kiss him on the cheek. 

“O-Oh,” Taeil says, blushing. “Oh my god.” 

And even Taeil can see the way the screen goes crazy, their faces practically covered by all the many hearts.  
  


☾ V ☽

  
  
On-screen, in front of members, everything is so good. Taeil feels like they’re friends, like they _could_ be friends. He always starts to forget that they’re supposed to dislike each other, that it’s all just an act. And then people leave, and Ten looks at him like he couldn’t get away enough fast enough.

His only solace is that they’re often apart, different units and different schedules. They’re mostly together for publicity schedules, and the occasional couple activity to keep interest high. 

It’s like that for a while. But when Mr. Kim calls them in, it changes, as things are wont to do when Mr. Kim calls. 

“I’ve got great news,” Mr. Kim says. “Are you both listening?” 

“Yes,” Taeil says. “We’re listening.” 

“World tour,” Mr. Kim says. “Everyone else will be informed later today, but I wanted to let you both know personally.” 

“Which unit?” Ten asks. “WayV?” 

“Oh no,” Mr. Kim laughs. “No, no, no. All twenty-five members. All of NCT. World tour. Not just Asia and the United States and maybe Canada. I’m talking South America. I’m talking Europe. I’m talking we’re going _everywhere_ , and it’s all thanks to _you_.” 

Taeil swallows thickly. Tours get tight. He doesn’t know how they’re going to manage.  
  


☾ V ☽

  
  
The preparations are exhausting, but at the very least, they get to focus on the music for a while. They practice non-stop for a couple weeks, and Taeil takes it gratefully, because after that, Neo City Versus The World takes stage.  
  


☾ V ☽

  
  
When they check into the hotel, Taeil realizes what’s happening when Ten turns to him grimacing. “We’re rooming together.”

“Don’t look so happy about it,” Taeil says. 

“I mean, can’t we get a _minute_ to ourselves?” Ten says quietly as they walk to the elevator, their bags behind them. 

It sticks in Taeil’s stomach like a thorn. Is it really so bad? Is he really that shitty of a person? They walk up in tense silence, and Taeil feels it bubbling at him, how badly he wants to say something. He thought things were fine. They were friendly, mostly. Why—Why does Ten still act like he hates Taeil? 

Ten taps the keycard against the door, swinging it open, to reveal… 

“Of course,” Ten says, stamping his feet through the room. He kicks off his shoes quickly, face-planting onto the singular Queen-sized bed. “I’m napping. Goodnight.” 

Taeil stands there, twisting his hands. 

They sleep as far away from each other as they possibly can, practically an ocean between them.  
  


☾ V ☽

  
  
The first leg of the tour is through Asia, of course, and annoyingly, Ten and Taeil are the only thing people want to talk about. They get questions, the rest of the members get questions, it’s all they seem to discuss. Taeil knows Ten well enough to see he’s tired of the bullshit, but he puts up with it, grits his teeth and bears it. So Taeil tries to step up and take control of the situation for everyone.

“Honestly,” Taeil says to the Japanese interpreter, “we just want to focus on our music and our fans. To us, the music is our gift to you, the rest is just extra. And our love for the fans is bigger than any other love.” 

The interpreter translates quickly, and the crowd coos at him. Taeyong caps him on the shoulder, kissing him on the cheek, and the concert goes on without a hitch, without another comment.  
  


☾ V ☽

  
  
“I wish you would have just let well enough alone,” Ten says.

They’re packing their things, about to head back to Korea until the second leg of the tour, and Taeil—he’s done with this. He can’t do it any longer. 

“I was trying to help,” Taeil says. “You looked pissed off.” 

“I can handle it,” Ten says. “You don’t have to help me.” 

And Taeil is tired of it. 

“I just want to know why you hate me so much,” Taeil says. “I don’t hate you.” 

“Yes, you do,” Ten says, and he’s shoving shit into his suitcase angrily. 

“No, I don’t,” Taeil says. “We were fine when we were rookies, even after debut, and then...and then everything fell apart so suddenly, and I just never understood. I didn’t know what to do besides—” 

“Besides treat me exactly as I was treating you,” Ten says, and he zips the case shut. “And that’s gotten us through, what, how many years? Let’s not fuck with something that’s working.” 

Taeil grabs Ten by the shoulders, pushes past Ten’s resistance. Ten reluctantly meets Taeil’s eyes before quickly looking away. 

“Is this working? Seriously?” Taeil asks. “Is it?” 

Ten shrugs out of the touch, turns back to his bag. He lifts it to the wheeled edge, pulls up the handle. “It’s working for me,” he says lowly. His back is to Taeil as he starts to walk from the room. 

Taeil doesn’t know what else to do. He feels like he’s at the end of his fucking rope with all this shit, th—the kissing, the touching, the displays of affection that are so, so public. 

“Ten,” he says, and he sounds exactly as desperate as how he feels. 

Ten stops in his tracks, and Taeil watches his shoulders sink down. His voice is so soft when he answers, gentle like the sounds he makes when Taeil kisses him. 

“Because you’re old.” 

“W-What?” 

Ten turns, and there’s a hint of a smile on his face. Some softness. Some gentleness in him. 

“I hate you because you’re old,” he says, and Taeil gasps out a laugh. “How’s that work for you?” 

“G-Good,” Taeil says. “It works good.” 

Ten continues to smile as he turns, straightening his spine as he walks from the hotel room and for the first time in a long time, Taeil feels like he understands something about Ten.  
  


☾ V ☽

  
  
From the hotel room conversation, things get easier. The walks through airports are easier, Ten’s fingers laced through his own. Occasionally, Taeil will squeeze Ten’s hand in his, and he’ll get a squeeze back. It feels like solidarity, a strange camaraderie. No one can understand what Taeil’s going through, no one except for Ten.

When the photographers demand a kiss, Taeil starts to initiate more. It’s all so chaste, but still, it feels so intimate when the cameras flash. It feels like standing on the sun, all the lights around them. The boys jeer good-naturedly, and interestingly, Taeil finds himself getting accustomed to the practice. He doesn’t exactly think of himself as Ten’s boyfriend, but he _does_ start thinking of himself as Ten’s friend.  
  


☾ V ☽

  
  
A meeting with Mr. Kim is never a good sign, because now Taeil knows the system. He can basically see into the future now. Anytime they’re about to start promoting new material, anything that needs a hint of spice, something needs to happen. Something to draw attention. It feels—gross, and he hates it in some way, but even despite this, he looks forward to the meetings because he gets to see Ten in his natural habitat: bitchy.

“Absolutely not,” Ten says. 

“You haven’t even considered it fully,” Mr. Kim says. 

“I have considered that I’m not _prized pony_ ,” Ten says. “I am not going to be trotted around every week before a mini-album drops or when you’re trying to put people in the seats for a show in the States.” 

“Isn’t that what pop music is?” Mr. Kim asks. “Putting on the razzle dazzle until pay attention enough to listen?” 

“God, that’s so depressing,” Ten says. 

“We just want you to feel a bit more...hm, how should I put it?” Mr. Kim says, before he consults his phone. He scrolls for a minute before exclaiming, “Ah. We want you to feel more free when you’re abroad in Europe on the second leg of the tour. Feel more comfortable to express yourselves.” 

“Comfortable. _Free_ ,” Ten scoffs. “What’s free about this?” 

Mr. Kim goes on and on about suggestions, the way they could drum up more publicity, and Taeil tries to listen, but the only thing he can focus on for the entirety of the meeting is Ten’s thigh against his as they sit. They don’t have to sit so close. They could be on opposite sides of the couch. But sure enough, Ten’s thigh is against his, a comforting weight through all this.  
  


☾ V ☽

  
  
They’re in England, and the club they go to is dingy. Johnny and Mark are the masterminds behind it, and everyone knows they’re there. That’s why it’s a horrific idea to drink. It’s an even _more_ horrific idea to drink as much as they do.

“You guys,” Taeyong says. “You’re so cute. I’m so happy you’re together.” 

“You’re trashed,” Johnny says. 

“I’m not trash,” Taeyong argues. 

“Oh my god,” Mark giggles. He snorts, only to laugh louder. 

“Isn’t everything so much better now that Ten and Taeil are in love?” Taeyong slurs. “Everything’s so good now. Everything’s super fuckin’ cool.” 

“Yeah,” Taeil says. “Super cool.” 

The alcohol is simmering through him, and his face is warm even before Ten comes back, two tall orange drinks in hand. Ten sits next to him, offers one of the drinks to Taeil before clinking the glasses together. 

“Oh my god,” Taeyong coos. “Look at you.” 

“Cheers,” Ten whispers, and he is slithering against Taeil in a way that he never has before. 

Taeil blushes, whispers back, “Cheers.” 

They sip from their drinks, screwdrivers at Ten’s insistence. Taeil can’t remember the last time he got so drunk, and he lays his head back against the cushion of the booth, Ten at his side. 

“You’re not bad,” Ten says suddenly. 

Taeil tips his head up, holding himself as steady as he can manage. 

“You’re not bad,” Taeil says. 

Ten laughs, and it’s the genuine kind: not what he uses when he wants to look cute. Not what he uses in front of everyone else, in front of media and fans. But his real laugh. And he gave it to Taeil. 

“Drink,” Ten says. “You’re too fucking sober.”  
  


☾ V ☽

  
  
He doesn’t know how he got here, but it’s only a couple hours later, and Ten is in his lap, arms around his neck. No one is even paying attention to them, and Taeil is getting dizzy, but when Ten takes Taeil’s jaw in his hand, Taeil opens to him, blooms like a flower under the attention.

“Hi,” Taeil says sleepily. 

“Hi,” Ten answers. 

He closes the distance between them, and their lips meet. Ten sinks into Taeil, lets Taeil bear all his weight as he licks along Taeil’s lips to make him moan. Taeil opens, lets his tongue tangle with Ten’s, and _oh_ , he thinks. _This is all so new._  
  


☾ V ☽

  
  
Taeil wakes up with a splitting headache and his phone screaming at him.

“Oh my god, shut it _off_ ,” Ten grimaces and he grabs the extra pillow, covers his head with it. 

Taeil smiles as he sits up, grabs his phone, and realizes, _oh, fuck. Last night wasn’t a dream._

He runs to the bathroom, phone in hand, and answers the call. 

 

“Uh, hello, Mr. Kim,” Taeil says. 

“Taeil,” Mr. Kim says. “Whose idea was it?” 

Taeil would never tell him the idea actually belonged to the screwdrivers that they kept tossing back, but also, worst case scenario, he doesn’t want to get Ten in trouble. Logically, there’s only one option for him. 

“It was my idea,” Taeil says, and thinking back to the way Ten sat in his lap, and he put his hands on Ten’s hips, the way Ten swallowed his moans, the way Ten kissed him like...he shrugs it away. “I’m sorry, sir.” 

“Don’t apologize,” Mr. Kim says. “The second and third legs of the tour are totally sold out thanks to that little display. It was _masterful_ , Taeil. Truly inspired.”

Taeil doesn’t feel inspired in that moment. Taeil feels sick. Because it’s starting not to feel like a display, a stunt. It’s starting to feel like he’s got a fucking crush on the guy he’s pretending to date. 

After he gets off the phone with Mr. Kim, he splashes his face with water before walking back into the bedroom. Ten is sitting up, rubbing at his eyes. 

“Who was that?” he asks. 

“Mr. Kim,” Taeil says. “He’s happy with us.” 

“Oh,” Ten says. “Well, that’s good, I guess.” 

“Yeah,” Taeil says. “I guess.”  
  


☾ V ☽

  
  
He has no idea how to proceed from here. It’s not like he can go on Naver and search it up, like “how to stop yourself from falling in love with someone everyone already thinks you’re in love with.” This was the _natural_ progression of things. If you kiss them, you hug them, you look at each other like you love each other, it’s _bound_ to happen. So why then, he wonders, does he feel so sick every time his affections flare?

“Ooh,” Ten sings, shifting happily in his seat as he picks the stems off. “I like strawberries.” 

The rest of the group whips around at breakfast. 

“What did you just say?” Taeyong says. 

“I like strawberries,” Ten shrugs. “It isn’t a big deal.” 

“You hate fruit,” Yuta says. “It’s a huge deal.” 

“Taeil and I got strawberry ice cream once,” Ten says. “Ever since then, I’ve liked them, sort of.” 

Taeil has to stop himself from clutching his chest. How can someone be so fucking cute and not even realize it?  
  


☾ V ☽

  
  
They do their skincare at the bathroom sink at the same time every night now, and sometimes, Taeil will put on the soft, slow music he likes before bed, and Ten will sway to the beat, occasionally bumping his hip into Taeil’s. Taeil always looks over, shoots him a smile. Ten always smiles back.

They peel back the covers at the same time, slipping under the sheets. They lie next to each other, scrolling through their phones until it’s time to shut their eyes. Taeil always sits up to shut off the light. 

“Night,” Ten says softly, always first. 

“Night,” Taeil says. Always second.  
  


☾ V ☽

  
  
Truth be told, Taeil is surprised it didn’t happen sooner. They’re in their mid-twenties, they’re young, they’re healthy. And when Taeil wakes with Ten at his back, hard against his ass, it feels like something he should have been expecting.

As soon as Taeil realizes what’s going on, he tries to extricate himself from Ten’s hold on him without waking him: the last thing he’d want is an awkward situation. 

That’s what he gets, though, the most awkward situation. 

Ten kicks back from the bed, scrambling back, a hand desperately trying to cover himself. “I’m sorry, I—” 

“It’s okay,” Taeil says. “It’s normal, right?” 

“Y-Yeah,” Ten says. “I…” 

He looks at the empty space between them, the white sheets that seem to stretch on and on. 

“I’ve been thinking,” Ten says. “I’m gonna talk to Mr. Kim later today. I think we should break up.” 

“What?” Taeil says. “What are you talking about?” 

Ten gets out of bed, slipping into shorts and a shirt as Taeil fruitlessly tries to goad him into conversation. He hurries through the hotel room, grabbing his phone and stepping into flip-flops, crossing through. 

“Ten,” Taeil says. “Ten, where are you going?” 

“I’ll be back,” he says, looking back over his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I didn’t—I didn’t mean to make things weird.”  
  


☾ V ☽

  
  
Taeil does what he always does when he needs perspective. He goes to Mark.

Luckily, Hyuck is out of their room, so they have it to themselves when he enters. 

“Hyung,” he cries, pulling Taeil into a hug. “What is up, brother? Here, sit, sit. What seems to be the issue? You sounded distraught.”

Taeil sits, vaguely embarrassed that he goes to Mark for help, but at least Mark doesn’t make fun of him. 

“I’m sort of confused,” Taeil says. “And you can’t tell anyone about this.” 

“Oh, a secret,” Mark says. “I love secrets.” 

“I’ll talk to Taeyong instead,” Taeil says. 

“No, no!” Mark says. “Confide in me, hyung. I’ll take it to the grave, I swear.” 

Taeil breathes out, looks around like someone is going to jump out of the fucking closet. “So, the whole thing—” 

“The whole thing,” Mark says excitedly. 

“Between me and Ten,” Taeil says. 

“My favorite people in the entire world, and I would kill myself if you broke up,” Mark says. “Continue.” 

Taeil can’t tell him everything, but— 

“We got in a fight,” Taeil says. “And I don’t know what to do.” Mark hits him on the arm, hard. “Ow!”

“Well, what’d you do, hyung?” Mark says. “Hm? What’d you _do_?” 

“I dunno,” Taeil says, scratching his head. “Everything seemed fine this morning, and then something happened, and all of a sudden, he wanted to break up.” 

“Ah!” Mark screeches, slapping his hands over his ears. “Uh uh. No way.” 

Taeil reaches up with a smile, takes Mark’s hands down from around his ears. 

“I just—” 

“If you want _my_ advice,” Mark says, looking off to the middle distance, “then I say...you should talk to him, hyung. See what made him mad! And then, like, you should apologize! Be the bigger man or whatever. And like, you’re his hyung, so that always means that you should apologize first.” 

Taeil frowns. “Isn’t that the opposite way?” 

“Nah,” Mark says. “All the good hyungs apologize first. And you’re a good hyung, so that’s what you’ll do.” 

Taeil nods to himself, and weirdly, it all starts to make sense.  
  


☾ V ☽

  
  
He finds Ten in the empty lobby before dinner. He looks upset, phone in his hands. _Enough of that_ , Taeil thinks, and he crosses over to him.

“Can we talk?” Taeil asks. 

“I don’t really wanna talk,” Ten says. “I’m sorry. I know—I know I’m being rude, but it’s just…” 

“I like you.” It spills out of Taeil’s mouth, and the look on Ten’s face is worth the potential rejection. He looks completely shocked, eyes wide, all the snark stripped away. “And I’m sorry if that makes things worse between us, I know...I know we’ve had a complicated relationship, but I just wanted you to know. If you want to break up now, then...then that’s your decision, and I’ll respect it, but I—” 

“I don’t want to break up,” Ten says. “Oh my god. I...I like you. Taeil, I really like you.” 

“Oh,” Taeil says. “You do?” 

“Yes,” Ten says, almost _confused_. “Yeah, I—” 

But he doesn’t say anything else, the dam finally breaking. He just moves to Taeil as if they’re magnetized, throwing his arms around Taeil’s neck, Taeil’s arms around Ten’s waist as they kiss. They try like hell to get closer together, close the gap that doesn’t exist, and Ten puts a thigh between Taeil’s until— 

“Hey!” 

They whip around, springing apart like teenagers, and Johnny wanders towards them. 

“Enough kissing, lovebirds, we’re still in public,” he tuts before turning to Ten. “You still wanted to go take some pictures, right?” 

“Yeah, sorry,” Ten says, and his lips are red, kissed. “Just forgot.” 

“No prob,” Johnny says. “I’ll wait for you outside.” 

“Kay.” 

They watch him walk off, and then Ten plasters himself against Taeil, their bodies forming the tightest line. Ten kisses along Taeil’s cheek, licks along the shell of his ear. 

“Later, okay?” Ten whispers, and Taeil can feel it shiver all the way down to his toes, the promise of it.  
  


☾ V ☽

  
  
When Ten comes back to the room later in the evening, the room is mostly dark, and he moves like a cat through the shadows. He climbs into bed with Taeil, lies beside him before kissing him softly.

“Why did you hate me so much?” Taeil asks, lips against Ten’s, sweet. Careful. 

“I never...I never hated you,” Ten says, and it’s incredible, the layers that have pulled back from him. The soft, sensitive, raw underneath of him. “I always liked you. Too much. Way too much.” Taeil makes a sound in his throat, and Ten chases after it, kisses Taeil hard. “I always loved you. I always wanted to be with you, but—” 

“But what?” Taeil asks. 

“But when we were rookies,” Ten says. “I was nervous. I didn’t...I didn’t want you to know.” 

“So you—” 

“So I pushed you away.” He leans in, kisses Taeil on the neck, wet. Hot. “And then you pushed back. And before I knew it, we were so far apart that I couldn’t stop it, I just...I couldn’t stop it. I thought you hated me all along. From the very beginning, I thought you knew, or maybe you just never liked me at all.” 

Taeil makes a noise of upset, and Ten sits up to kiss him, kiss it away from his mouth. 

“I could never hate you,” Taeil says. “Never, not once.” 

“Even when I called you old?” 

“Yeah,” Taeil says with a smile. “Even then.” 

“When I said you were unpopular?” 

“Yeah,” Taeil says, grinning brighter. “Even then.” 

“When I said I hated you?” 

Taeil kisses him, because yes, _even then_.  
  


☾ V ☽

  
  
It feels illicit, using their hotel room privacy for something like this, but Taeil doesn’t care: they’ve put so much of themselves out there, open for criticism and harsh words, and finally, finally, they’re able to live in truth. In the light.

Ten pushes Taeil down to the bed, and Taeil kisses Ten with as much passion as he muster, as much love as he can feel. It surges through him, lightning in a bottle, and Ten is water, moves like the water, a conduit to him. 

Ten lays his body flat against Taeil’s, and the pressure alone is electric, zipping through him like a stripped live wire. He can’t remember the last time he felt someone’s body over his own like this: the weight, the heat. And then Ten starts to move. 

They kiss as they grind into each other, nothing but the thin fabric of their clothes between them. And the thought alone is too much, everything he’s been dreaming about for the past six months and more. Taeil wants to be embarrassed about how quickly he gets hard, but with the way Ten grinds into him, frots against him, he doesn’t think anyone could blame him. 

Ten strips them both slowly, shirts and then pants, and before he knows what’s going on, he’s moaning into Ten’s mouth, the sounds echoing as they move, nothing between them except for their underwear. 

“I’ve wanted to do this since London,” Ten whispers, settling his legs on either side of Taeil’s body, straddling him. “I wanted to feel you underneath me.” 

“Holy shit,” Taeil says. “You’re so—” 

Ten sits up straight, puts Taeil’s hands on his hips as he grinds his ass back into Taeil’s cock. 

“I’m what?” he taunts. “What am I?” 

“Sexy,” Taeil says, and he watches Ten’s hips roll like the ocean. “Look at you move.” 

Ten stares down at his body, the rolls of his body. He’s so hard, filling out his briefs, and he flips the front of his underwear down, his dick bobbing out once he tucks the elastic down. Taeil takes one hand from Ten’s hip, strokes from the head to the base, and his gaze shoots up when Ten gasps, throwing his head back. The long line of his throat is slick with sweat now, their clothed frottage enough to work them up, already so fucked out with the other. 

Taeil wants to sit up to taste it, so that’s what he does: he surges up, licks along Ten’s throat, moving Ten’s hips with one hand, stroking his cock between their bodies with the other. 

“T-Taeil,” Ten whines. “Taeil.” 

“Hey,” Taeil says. “You’re supposed to call me hyung.” 

Ten laughs sharply, hands on Taeil’s shoulders. He shoves him back to the bed, staring at Taeil like predators stare at prey. Hungrily. 

“You want me to call you _hyung_?” Ten asks sweetly. 

Taeil breathes in sharply. “Yeah.” 

“What else do you want, hyung?” Ten asks, and he trails clever fingers down Taeil’s neck, down his throat, along his collarbones. “Tell me.” 

“I-I want you,” Taeil says, and it sounds like every time he’s confessed in his head. 

“You’ve got me,” Ten says, and his fingers keep moving, skating along the sensitive skin at Taeil’s chest, his stomach. Lower. “And I’ve got you.” He leans forward, presses a kiss to the hollow of Taeil’s throat. “Right.” A kiss to his chest. “Where.” A kiss to his stomach, making Taeil gasp. “I want you.” 

“Oh my god,” Taeil whimpers. “Please.” He tenses his abdomen so he can look down at Ten as he pulls Taeil free of his underwear, cock hard and wet at the tip. “Please, oh my god.” 

“Mm,” Ten hums against Taeil’s thigh, fucking the hole of his fist over Taeil’s dick. “Look…” 

But the image is too hot, seared into his brain like a fucking brand: Ten staring at him, cock slowly fucking through Ten’s hand. He throws his head back, groans, digs his heels into the bed and curls his toes. It’s so little, it shouldn’t be enough to get him on edge, but— 

“Shit,” Taeil curses. “Ten.” 

He squeezes him around the base, and Taeil moans, high-pitched. Stupid. 

“You can’t come,” Ten says. “Not yet. I’m not done with you.”

The words sink into Taeil’s stomach and Taeil clenches all over. Weakly, a shot of pre-come beads at the head of his cock. Ten only smiles, closing in, that same predatory look in his eyes as he licks it away with the flat of his tongue. 

“Oh, f-fuck,” Taeil says, body squirming away. He’s already so fucking sensitive, on a _hair-trigger_ after going through it all.

Ten sucks the head of Taeil’s cock into his mouth, and the wet heat is alone enough to send Taeil to the brink. 

“Ten, Ten,” Taeil says, hands scrambling in the sheets. “Fuck, _Ten_.” 

Ten swallows more of Taeil’s cock, his tongue flicking out once he’s swallowed it all, and Taeil is about a millisecond away from coming when Ten pulls off with a satisfied pop. He strokes Taeil with a spit-slick fist, looking up at him coyly. 

“I can’t wait to fuck you,” Ten whispers. “You’re so sensitive.” 

Taeil bucks his hips sharply, and Ten squeezes his fist around the base of Taeil’s cock, just _barely_ holding him back. 

“Do you want me to let you come?” Ten asks. “We only just got started.” 

Taeil blames himself for being wrapped up in Ten, in the mystery and the magic of him. Ten makes him stupid. Makes him silly. Makes him so desperately in love. 

“We’ve got forever,” Taeil says. “Please.” 

Ten crawls on top of Taeil, kissing him hard. All that Taeil hears is the wet sounds of their mouths, the whimpers that Ten leaks into him. And all he can feel is Ten against him, pushing against him, rutting their cocks against each other, slick and fast and— 

“I’m gonna come,” Taeil whines, and it’s not even a second more before he spills across his stomach, moaning and thrusting arrhythmically. 

Ten swallows his moans, and he works his hand between their bodies, pets along Taeil’s stomach until his hand comes away wet, and then he strokes his hand over his own cock, coming within the next moment. 

He collapses, Taeil huffing out a breath at the sudden weight. 

“You’re heavy,” Taeil complains. 

“No, I’m not,” Ten says, their chests steadily falling back to normal. 

“You are.” 

“I’m _not_ ,” Ten says, feisty. “Now shut up. You’re ruining my afterglow.”  
  


☾ V ☽

  
  
Ten answers his phone the next morning, and he immediately puts it on speaker.

“Hi, Mr. Kim,” Ten says. 

“Morning, Ten,” Mr. Kim says. “Sorry, I missed your call. What can I do for you?” 

Ten looks at Taeil. Smiles at him before kissing Taeil’s own smile away. 

“I just wanted to say thank you,” Ten says, and then he quickly hangs up, pushing Taeil back to bed. “How was that?”

“Good,” Taeil says. “Real good.” 

Ten’s eyes sparkle as he lowers himself down again, kissing Taeil once more. “Good.”

**Author's Note:**

> i literally started this word document at [checks document details] 1:45 PM and now here we are. largely unedited and its my own damn fault. sincerely hope u enjoyed regardless.
> 
> [my twitter](https://twitter.com/wolfsupremacist) | [my curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/wolfsupremacist)


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